I was looking at the miniatures plans for 2012 at Phreedhs Mini Stuff the other day and two things struck me:

thats a very big list.

I also have a very big list of plans that I will be lucky to complete a fraction of.

But I decided to make a list anyway. While I have an interest in completing all of these projects, it really is hard to say which ones will bubble to the top. Sometime the obvious projects dont hit the table properly for years, while the oddball ones occasionally get done in a surprise bout of enthusiasm.

So below is a list of projects from which my output this year is likely to come, in no particular order.

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Adeptus Mechanicus: I spent a big wad of money on Mechanicus related figures last summer when I had a little bit of spare cash. As I have already done a pretty big chunk of work on these guys they probably get my vote for “Most Likely to Actually Get Done in “2012”.

Gears of War: like Doom: the Boardgame before it Gears of War: the Boardgame is supplied with ~28mm scale miniatures. The quality of the figures for the Gears game is a big step up from Doom. Despite the failings of the Gears of War video games I do still enjoy them an awful lot, so painting up the Locust bad guys from the boardgame is something that I am looking forward to.

Dreadfleet: another boardgame, Dreadfleet consists of a variety of improbable pirate ships having ridiculous fights. It sounds like fun to me and as a project of finite size it has a clear start, middle and end. What does hamper this is that it isnt sci-fi. I find it rare that I get enthused enough about non-sci-fi projects to get working on them. It will happen at some stage, but I dont know when. This project gets my “Least Likely to Actually Get Done in “2012” award.

Judge Dredd: I made very successful headway into my Judge Dredd project last year, but I still have loads to do. As well as more judges I have lots of perps to do. Apes, robots, mutants, gang members, batters, fatties… the list is huge. As I have made quite a bit of progress with this project already it seems likely that more progress will be made throughout 2012.

Inquisitor Warbands: I have been reading 40K fiction recently and I have been taken with the idea of playing some games involving Inquisitors and their retinues in James Bond like scenarios, but not using actual Warhammer 40,000 or Inquisitor rules (for obvious reasons). It is a nice way to get to paint figures that are definitively 40K but that rarely show up on the tabletop, like Astropaths or Navigators or whatever. I have a ruleset in mind and a whole cast of guys that will each make nice quick sub-projects themselves, so this one looks likely to be tackled. In fact my recently painted assassin fits right in here, so its started already really.

Standard Falls post-apocalyptic terrain: I have a load more post apoc terrain bits and plans sitting in a box that are crying out to be assembled and painted. I also plan to revisit my dreaded post apocalyptic fort to work on some of the elements that I am least happy with. Before I tackle any of that however I want to finish my…

Zuzzy Mats: I bought two of these last year. I suspect that painting them wont take more than a day or two each, with most of that being drying time. Until I get those done I wont be tackling any other terrain elements.

Graveyard Terrain: I plan to quickly paint enough graveyard terrain pieces to populate a 4×4′ table. I hope that Inquisitors can investigate cult activity around them and the like. It will also be suitable for Buffy games whenever I get around to that.

Colonial Marines: always bridesmaids these guys, they never seem to get the attention that they deserve chez sho3box. Right now I dont think that I will get to them in 2012, but with Prometheus coming out maybe that will get me back focused on those tough hombres.

Riddick: this is a bit of a cheat as it involves only one figure. I recently decided that I actually like the Riddick franchise, which surprised me as much as it probably surprised you. With that in mind I want to paint my own miniature version of the character. The figure will fit in nicely to the Dredd and Inquisitor projects.

Titans: researching my Adeptus Mechanicus project got me thinking about playing some more games of “Mighty Monsters” and its upcoming sister ruleset “Samurai Robot Battle Royale” using 40K titans. I have a load of suitable scenery pieces waiting for paint so those and the titans themselves constitute yet another project that I would like to get off the ground.

Zombies: I always seem to come back to these guys. With Resident Evil 6 and Operation Raccoon City lined up for release on Xbox this year it seems that I will not be short of inspiration to get working on more living impaired.

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So, loads of stuff to do there. Some of it will definitely get done. When it does I will document it here.

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I’ll have you know that so far I’m sticking to my plan very well, thank you! =) You forgot to add the LPL6 to the list (as did I) by the way… though I’m still undecided about my participation. On the one hand, it’s a good way of motivating yourself to paint more. On the other hand, I feel it takes away a bit of the fun to have strict deadlines.

Im glad to hear that you plans are working out Mattias. Since I wrote that post (yesterday) I have already started working on something not listed in it. It would be hard to find a better display of miniature related ADD/magpie syndrome.

The LPL is always tempting, but it is a lot of work. Crucially, I would have to paint a lot of the entries in advance which is potentially a lot of pressure. It would also make my blogging efforts a bit spartan for a duration.

I may enter it in the future as it is a great motivator, but not in 2012. I did a lot of painting in early 2011 that sort of burned me out for the latter half of the year, The LPL could easily cause the same thing to happen again, so while I do hope to enter one of these years, it wont be this one.

I didn’t know about Gears of War so I’m glad you had that on your list. Three hours playing time is a bit of a turn off for me though, as I usually prefer boardgames that plays under two hours. But the miniatures certainly look interesting! I’m downloading the rules right now to have a look at them.

Riddick rocks! I’d love to see your version of him. The Zuzzy mats will be interesting to see as well. I still haven’t ordered any myself, although I’ve seen that they now carry sizes that fit my living room table nearly perfect.

Its a ridiculous list, its way to big. But it does helps me to prioritise at least.

I have only played the Gears boardgame once with three players. I dont think that it is a three hour game, although it probably is a two hour one.

To be honest even if you didnt play the game (which would be a pity: it has a lot going for it) the box is probably worth it just for the Locust figures: they are great. As a Gears fan it was a must-buy for me.

I am going to set aside a weekend for the first Zuzzy mat soon, but as I am making figure painting progress for the first time for ages I am reluctant to stop to work on terrain. So no Zuzzy for the time being.

Riddick will be up soon, along with the last two Dark Judges and some oddball stuff.